mental illness

Since the Rapid Access Addiction Centre opened in October 2016 at St. Paul's, it has served 1,500 patients from many communities and many walks of life. When it opened, it was unique for offering nearly everything in one location for someone struggling with addictions and mental health — doctors, nurses, counsellors, social workers — and aimed to help people immediately, with no wait-list. Several other cities, such as Surrey and Victoria, are now opening their own RAAC clinics. Here is a peek inside St Paul's.

The government has promised to revamp the child and youth mental health system. There are some programs that already exist in B.C. that work well, but need more support. One is a three-decade-old school in Richmond that has helped many children who couldn't handle the mainstream education system, but is on the verge of closing due to funding cuts.

British Columbia needs to overhaul a mental health system that allows psychiatric facilities to detain people with little justification, to deny them access to a lawyer and to take away their personal clothing as a form of punishment, a legal advocacy group says.

Family and friends say Oscar Arfmann, the man accused of fatally shooting an Abbotsford police officer, showed clear signs of mental health distress and that the health care system could have done more to help him.